


Before It All Burns

by Shanghai_OhMy



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Action, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Backstory, Cussing, Drama, Emotional Baggage, Fighting, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Plot, Rated For Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:07:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22919686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanghai_OhMy/pseuds/Shanghai_OhMy
Summary: When a figure from Badgerclops's past shows up in Pure Heart Valley, the sheriff's department is thrown into chaos. With the lives of everyone in the city on the line, can Badgerclops and Mao Mao hold themselves together and fend off this new enemy? Or will they crack under pressure and let Pure Heart be destroyed?Plot-heavy fic focused on developing Badgerclops's backstory while showing how it impacts his present-day relationship with Mao Mao & his feelings about himself. Completed! No more updates :)
Relationships: Badgerclops/Mao Mao Mao
Comments: 41
Kudos: 124





	1. Raptor

Afternoon patrol was going pretty much the same as it usually did. Badgerclops was surrounded by a group of adoring sweetypies waiting to be thrown in the air and caught, Adorabat was high-fiving them on the way down, and Mao Mao was yelling at both of them to stop.

“Quit fooling around, Badgerclops! We have a job to do!”

“Aw come on Mao, lighten up!” Badgerclops said, catching a giggling Chubbum. “I’m keeping them out of trouble.”

“You’re holding up our patrol!”

“No,” Badgerclops said, grinning. He grabbed Mao Mao around the waist and raised him up above the crowd.  _ “Now _ I’m holding up our patrol.”

“UNHAND ME RIGHT NOW!” Mao Mao shouted, thrashing in Badgerclops’s hands. 

The sweetypies all laughed at this. “We love you Badgerclops!!” one shouted.

Badgerclops laughed. “Okay, okay, settle down y’all.” He placed Mao Mao back on the ground. “Mao Mao’s right, we should get back to patrolling.”

The crowd dispersed, disappointed. Mao Mao was too busy fuming to gloat about Badgerclops saying he was right.  _ Stupid badger thinks he can pick me up just because I’m- _

His ear twitched. He’d felt something on his whiskers. A movement of the air. Danger.

In a flash he was in front of Badgerclops, sword drawn. At its tip was a stranger, someone much too tall and scary-looking to be a sweetypie – a slender hawk, marked up and down with scars. He was wearing a long, thin black scarf and a pair of black bracers. Mao Mao noted that his right leg was mechanical below the knee.  _ Wait a second. A hawk with a bunch of scars? _ Recognition flashed in Mao Mao’s mind, but Badgerclops beat him to it.

“Raptor?! W-what are you doing here?!” Badgerclops’s eye was wide.

_“Badgerclops.”_ Raptor spat his name out like it was a curse. He stared at Badgerclops with murderous intensity. “Did you think you could outrun me forever?”

Badgerclops’s hand disappeared, replaced with a glowing blaster. He took aim directly at Raptor’s face, narrowing his eye. “How did you find me?” The steely tension in his voice surprised Mao Mao.

Raptor laughed. The two deadly weapons pointed directly at his beak didn’t seem to trouble him much. “Oh, I was just passing through. But it seems fate has smiled upon me!” He made a magnanimous gesture. “Looks like I finally got my chance to ruin your life the way you ruined mine.” He glared at Badgerclops, leaning in menacingly.

Badgerclops’s blaster whirred to a higher intensity.

“You know Badgerclops, I thought I’d almost let this whole thing go. After all, I’m still on the outside, aren’t I? But then I come here and I see you, surrounded by these... sugary knee-high weirdos screaming about how much they love you. As if you’ve never done a thing wrong in your life.” He spat at Badgerclops’s feet, barely missing Mao Mao. “It makes me fucking sick.”

Adorabat gasped. “That’s a  _ bad word!” _

Mao Mao had had enough. “Hey! Criminal!” Mao Mao yelled at Raptor, attempting to get his attention. “Remember me?”

Raptor glanced down. “Yes, you’re the sword one. Momo or something. Stop distracting me.” He turned his attention back to Badgerclops. “Well Badgerclops, looks like you’ve got a real nice thing going on here. Be a damn shame if something happened to this town, wouldn’t it?”

“Terrible shame,” Badgerclops agreed. “A shame, but not my problem. I’m just passing through, same as you.”  _ He’s mimicking Raptor’s tone.  _ Mao Mao made a note to ask about that later.

Raptor's eyes narrowed. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“Yeah Badgerclops, what are you talking about?” Adorabat giggled. “You and Mao Mao are the sheriffs, silly! Don’t you remember? We’re on patrol!”

Raptor grinned at Badgerclops. “Sheriff?” He guffawed. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone straight? After everything you’ve done to me, you think you can go and  _ play hero?” _ He hissed the words out, murderous hate dripping from every syllable.

A shadow fell across Badgerclops’s face. “I did what I had to do to get out.”

At this point, Mao Mao was fed up.  _ How DARE this violent criminal enter MY jurisdiction, threaten MY friend, and then IGNORE ME! _ He leapt up on top of Badgerclops’s outstretched blaster and pointed his sword directly between Raptor’s eyes. “HEY! Eyes up here! You have ten seconds to leave this city before I show you how a hero handles things!”

Raptor looked amused. “Aw, that’s adorable! Maybe now that you have the high ground, you can actually beat me this time.” He flashed a derisive grin.

“You little…!” Mao Mao began to lunge, but Badgerclops jerked his arm to one side, knocking him off balance and interrupting his attack.

“You know you can’t take both of us at once, Raptor. Besides...” Mao Mao felt something click inside of Badgerclops’s arm. A low, rhythmic bass tone joined the high-charged whining of Badgerclops’s blaster. “...You remember what happened to your leg, don’t you?” 

_ His leg?  _ Mao Mao glanced at Badgerclops’s face and nearly fell off his arm in shock.  _ What’s with that look?! _ There wasn’t an ounce of compassion in Badgerclops’s eye. He was dead serious about taking Raptor out here and now.

Apparently Raptor saw it too. For an instant his composure broke, and Mao Mao saw genuine fear in his eyes.  _ What the hell did Badgerclops do to him? _

But Raptor was back to himself a moment later. “You two are a real hoot!” He laughed, turning on his heel towards the main gate. “Relax, I’ll be on my way now.” He took a step, then paused and looked back. “Oh, but you know what, Badgerclops? Now that I know you’re here, maybe I’ll come back with some friends. Burn this whole place to the ground and kill your little buddy there, hm? And then you’ll have exactly what you deserve: nothing but ashes.” He resumed his stride toward the gates, chuckling the whole way.

Badgerclops followed him with the blaster, keeping his head firmly in his sights.

“He seems fun!” Adorabat announced, gleefully bobbing up and down in the air.

Mao Mao was fuming.  _ What a JERK!! He called me ADORABLE! I would have cut him in half right then if Badgerclops hadn’t- WAITWAITWAIT WHAT IS BADGERCLOPS DOING?! _

Mao Mao heard the distinctive sweeping tone Badgerclops’s blaster made when it was discharging energy, about to fire. Acting on pure instinct, he slammed his body down on Badgerclops’s arm, knocking his aim off target. The beam bored a perfectly cylindrical hole into the cobblestone street. It was as wide as a manhole cover and as deep as Mao Mao was tall. Mao Mao’s fur stood on end from the electrical discharge, and the air around them was filled with the crackling smell of ozone.

For a moment, there was silence. Then:

“What the hell, Mao Mao?! I would have got him!”

Mao Mao looked at the hole, then at Badgerclops, then back at the hole. He flapped his mouth uselessly a few times, unable to think of what to say. That shot would have…  _ erased _ Raptor’s head!

“YOU CAN DO THAT?!” Adorabat screamed, flying over to look at the crater in the ground. “That is SO COOL!!!” Her voice echoed slightly off its walls.

Mao Mao clenched a fist. “No Adorabat, that was NOT cool! It was VERY dangerous! We’re in the middle of town! And Badgerclops,” he said, closing his eyes and wagging a finger disapprovingly, “You can’t attack a retreating enemy! A hero’s honor would NEVER allow it! What were you thinking?” He scolded.

He stood there, eyes still closed and wagging finger raised, waiting for an explanation. None came. “...Badgerclops?” He peeked one eye open.

“Huh?” Badgerclops shook his head. “Oh, uh… Yeah, right. Sorry, Mao. Guess I got carried away.” He shrugged, smiling. “Won’t happen again!”

“Your arm’s, uh… still a gun.”

“AH! So it is! Ha ha ha… So it is.” Badgerclops laughed nervously as it transformed back. 

“Hey, buddy, you uh... you okay?” Mao Mao placed a hand on Badgerclops’s newly reformed arm, then tugged it away almost immediately. The metal was still burning hot from the energy of the blast. It was like touching a stove.

Badgerclops looked down at him with a smile. “Yeah Mao Mao, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it! Just another dumb old villain, right?”

Mao Mao squinted, staring hard at Badgerclops.  _ Suspicious… _ But his prodigious skill in reading even the most subtle of body language told him nothing was wrong. Mao Mao was about to call for them to resume their patrol when he recalled Raptor’s threat to raze the city.  _ We should probably do something about that, huh?  _ “Okay, team!” He called. “We’re ending patrol early today. We have to get back to HQ to strategize! Lead the way, Adorabat!”

She gleefully flew ahead of them, tracing their usual route back to the station. Mao Mao walked side by side with Badgerclops, saying nothing. He wanted to ask for more details about Raptor, to get the tactical advantage, but he wasn't sure if it would be okay to bring it up.

Suddenly something pressed against his hand. He stiffened, about to jerk away. But the thing gripped his paw, enveloping it, and Mao Mao realized that it was Badgerclops's hand. Holding his.  _ What? _

“Badgerclops?”

Badgerclops didn’t say anything; he just stared straight ahead. Mao Mao looked up at his face, searching for an explanation. His mouth was set in a hard line. His face barely even moved as he breathed. Unease settled in the pit of Mao Mao’s stomach, though he couldn’t explain why. He didn’t even understand Badgerclops’s expression.

But then Badgerclops noticed him looking and smiled. It was a good smile. Mao Mao felt the tightness in his stomach release. _ Typical Badgerclops, _ he thought,  _ nothing bothers him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's our setup! See you next week.


	2. Keeping Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Raptor's threat hanging over them, Mao Mao and Badgerclops return to their headquarters and set watch for the night.

“Who WAS THAT?! Do you both know him? Why does he hate Badgerclops?” Adorabat was a machine gun of questions. Being the leader on their way to HQ had kept her engaged before, but now that they were sitting around the dining table she was bursting with queries.

“Wow Adorabat, that’s a LOT of questions.” Badgerclops scratched at his chin. “Let’s see, uh… Well, that guy’s name is Raptor, and he’s from a place really far away from here.”

Mao Mao chuckled. “Alright Badgerclops, good intro. I’ll take it from here.” Badgerclops was terrible at telling this kind of story anyway. Weirdly good at courtroom dramas though. He cleared his throat. “Adorabat, that was a villain Badgerclops and I met once on our adventures, long before we came to Pure Heart Valley.”

Adorabat was instantly enthralled. She loved stories from their past, and Mao Mao loved to talk about himself.

“Yes, that’s right, a villain from our past!” He gestured dramatically. “We met Raptor on the road not long after Badgerclops first joined me. We were setting up camp for the night. We slept under the stars every night, like real adventurers!” Mao Mao always included that bit in his stories for Adorabat. She seemed to love the idea, even though the one time they’d actually tried camping she’d hated it thoroughly.  _ Maybe when she’s older. _

“Raptor crept up on us as we were cooking dinner…” Mao Mao paused, expecting Badgerclops to insert a quip about what a grave offense that was. Badgerclops remained silent, so Mao Mao just pressed on. “Well, he tried to get the drop on us, but my senses were far too finely tuned for that! I met him blade to blade, dodging and weaving all around the campsite! Badgerclops and I were halfway through a desolate mountain pass, and the setting sun was framed perfectly between the two nearest peaks. The crimson light flashed brilliantly off my golden blade-”

Mao Mao glanced at Adorabat. She seemed far less interested than she had been a moment ago.  _ Oh, right. She hates descriptions. No taste, that kid. _ Mao Mao knew this next bit would reel her right back in though.

“I had my sword, but he was using a far more sinister weapon: a long, twisted knife… dipped in deadly poison!” Adorabat gasped.  _ Knew it. _ “Naturally I had the superior range with my katana, but his moves were lightning fast. We traded blows until the sun went down and the light was fading from the sky, and then-” Mao Mao stopped short. When he started this story, he’d forgotten that it ended… unheroically. And now that he was thinking about that ending, he was getting a little mad. In fact, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

“And then  _ what, _ Mao Mao?” Adorabat asked.

He slammed his fist on the table, startling her. “He CHEATED!” Mao Mao yelled. “Right when I had him backed up against a cliff, he pointed behind me and shouted ‘Badgerclops, look out!’ And then when I turned to look, he SLICED ME ACROSS THE BACK!”

Adorabat clapped her wings to her face in horror. “You LOST?!”

“NO!! I won the fight! I won it fair and square!!”

“Did you get poisoned? What does it feel like?! Tell me tell me tell me!”

Mao Mao grinned. Maybe he could still spin this to seem cool. “I was in tremendous pain! A lesser warrior surely would have blacked out and succumbed to the poison, but not the legendary Mao Mao!”

Adorabat looked at him with awe. “And then what?”

Mao Mao scratched behind his head awkwardly. “Well, then I, uh-”

“Then he blacked out from the poison,” Badgerclops said, snickering.

“He DID?!”

Mao Mao almost cursed under his breath, but stopped himself. Adorabat didn’t need to hear foul language twice in one day. But how could Badgerclops sell him out to Adorabat like that?! Why couldn’t Mao Mao just make up a cool ending to the battle?  _ Actually, speaking of endings… _

“Hang on, Badgerclops. You never even told  _ me  _ how this battle ended.”

“Aw, it was pretty boring, really. While he was distracted with gloating over you, I tackled him from the side and slapped his knife away. I pinned him down to the ground, charged up a laser, and said something like ‘you’re going to run far away now.’ And then I shot his leg off!” Badgerclops grinned.

Mao Mao’s mouth dropped open in horror.

Adorabat’s mouth dropped open in awe.

“That’s the coolest, most amazing-”

“That’s the cruelest, most horrible-”

They stopped. Mao Mao made a disbelieving gesture at Adorabat. She shrugged innocently in response. 

“Badgerclops, you  _ maimed  _ a defenseless foe! That is absolutely unconscionable!!”

Badgerclops looked annoyed. “C’mon man, can’t you shut up about hero stuff for like two seconds? He  _ poisoned _ you, Mao! He deserved it.”

“The strict moral code of the legendary hero, which I follow FAITHFULLY and TO THE LETTER, is not some little game for you to play with and then put down when you get bored, Badgerclops! It’s a deeply sophisticated-”

Badgerclops rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, sophisticated set of governing principles passed down for generations, I’ve heard the whole thing. I think it’s pretty heroic that I didn’t just kill him,” he grumbled to himself.

Mao Mao was about to argue more, but Adorabat interrupted him. “What about the poison?”

“Oh, that?” Badgerclops said, perking up. “Well lucky for Mao Mao, I know a thing or two about poisons. So after I sent Raptor running - uh, hopping - I pulled my sketching stuff out of my bag, ‘cause I knew I had some charcoal. I crushed it into a powder, mixed it with water from my jug to make a paste, and spread it on the wound. Then I had to carry Mao Mao all the way to the nearest stream - you’re welcome, by the way - and wash the whole thing out.”

Adorabat looked confused. Mao Mao was also confused, but he nodded like he understood.

“Oh Adorabat, did I seriously never tell you this? Powdered charcoal absorbs a ton of poisons,” Badgerclops explained. “Most of the time you like, eat it after someone poisons your food or something. But it works on wounds too, if you’re really quick.”

Adorabat looked dazzled. “Wow Badgerclops, that’s amazing!! You saved Mao Mao! You’re a hero!” She flew across the table to nuzzle into his cheek.

Badgerclops blushed and scratched the back of his head. “Aww, it was no big deal.” He giggled, remembering something. “Man, Mao Mao was dizzy for like a whole day after that. I had to carry him on my shoulders like a kid.”

“IT WAS STRATEGICALLY NECESSARY!”

Badgerclops laughed heartily, and Adorabat joined in. It was a nice moment. 

“Hey guys,” Badgerclops said, grinning, “how about a little pre-dinner snack?”

===

Mao Mao collapsed on the couch moments after they had finished putting Adorabat to bed. In order to make up for their lost patrol time that day, he’d run a rather intensive series of exercises in the dojo. Now he was ready to just relax. He  _ never _ used to relax before they came here. He cuddled happily into a throw pillow, waiting for Badgerclops to join him and turn on some dumb TV show. He would always complain about the noise, but really he loved laying there and half-watching whatever was on, letting the mindless sounds wash over him, feeling Badgerclops’s laugh shake the couch just a little… 

His ears twitched. He thought he’d picked up some sound from outside. And where was Badgerclops? Mao Mao immediately shifted into combat mode. He waited cautiously for the sound to repeat. As soon as it did, he leapt to his feet and swiftly made his way to the front door. He pulled Geraldine, sheath and all, from the umbrella stand next to the door as he went. A little knot formed deep in his stomach.  _ Did that villain from earlier come back for Badgerclops? _ He slipped the front door open silently and stepped out into the night. The enemy might still be near.

All was quiet. Mao Mao strained his ears.

_ Aha! _ He heard something. It was the same sound as before, but much clearer now! Some sort of crunching. His ears swiveled like tiny satellite dishes, pinpointing its location.  _ Over there. _ Placing one foot in front of the other, Mao Mao squatted, and then…

“AH!” Badgerclops shouted as something front-flipped out of the dark, landing next to him. A sword flashed in front of his face, but an instant later he heard it slide back into its sheath.

“Badgerclops? What are you doing out here?” Mao Mao was barely visible in the moonlight, except for his bright green eyes. 

“Jeez, Mao Mao!” Badgerclops thumped his chest with a hand, coughing. Crumbs scattered from his mouth. “You gotta stop sneaking up on me like that, dude!” He was sitting on a little bench by the side of their house, staring off the edge of the cliff. In his hand was an open bag of cheesy paws, which he set on the ground next to him. The source of the crunching, Mao Mao realized.

“Sorry, I…” Mao Mao sighed. “I was a little on edge. I thought you were a bad guy!”

An awkward silence stretched between them.

“Nice night to sit out, huh?” Mao Mao asked, sitting next to Badgerclops. He shivered, his fur bristling. “Well, maybe a little chilly.”

“Here.” Badgerclops draped a blanket over his shoulders. Mao Mao was surprised.  _ Why does he have that? _

“You looking at the stars?”

“Huh?” Badgerclops shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Uh, yeah. They’re nice tonight.” He looked up for a moment, then returned his gaze to its previous target.

Another silence.

This time Badgerclops was the one to break it. He sighed, dropping his eyes from the forest path. “I’m… keeping watch.” He sounded strangely guilty.

“Keeping watch? Badgerclops, this is Pure Heart Valley!” Mao Mao laughed. “We haven’t slept in shifts since we got here!”

Badgerclops shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “Yeah, but that was before…” He rubbed at his face. “I’m worried about Raptor.”

“Raptor?” Mao Mao scoffed. “Guy couldn’t take me blindfolded. We’ll send him packing like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“He almost killed you, Mao!” Badgerclops gripped Mao Mao by the shoulders, suddenly very intense. His eye was wide open. “You have to take him seriously! He’s dangerous!”

Mao Mao shrugged Badgerclops off. “Jeez, calm down Badgerclops! That was a long time ago! There’s no way he could beat me now.”

“This isn’t about you!” Badgerclops’s tone was harsh. He must have realized it too, because his face softened immediately. “I’m sorry. I…” Badgerclops sighed. “You don’t know him, Mao Mao. Raptor doesn’t make empty threats. He’ll come back.” His eye looked tired. Distant.

“Then we’ll send him running when he does!” Mao Mao struck a heroic pose. “There isn’t a criminal in the world that I can’t bring to justice!”

Badgerclops stared at his face, searching for something. Mao Mao thought he looked distraught. But then he closed his eye and smiled again. “Haha yeah, you tell ‘em, man!” Badgerclops looked back out towards the forest. “I don’t know why I was even worried.”

Satisfied, Mao Mao nodded. “I’m glad you finally understand, Badgerclops.” He stood up, stretching, and adjusted the blanket on his shoulders. “I’ll take the first shift.”

"If you want to." Badgerclops didn't seem as excited by that offer as Mao Mao had expected. He rose to his feet. “Just… wake me when it’s my turn.” He slowly stepped away.

Mao Mao heard Badgerclops walk back inside. He saw the kitchen light flip on for a moment, streaming through the nearby window, then turn off again. Straining his ears, Mao Mao was pretty certain he heard Badgerclops thump down on his bed. Satisfied, he settled on the bench, propped one arm against Geraldine, and stared down at the distant path. He was used to long nights of keeping watch.


	3. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badgerclops opens up to Mao Mao about his history with Raptor. Mao Mao sees Badgerclops in a new light.

Wednesday was meditation day. Mao Mao sat in their open-air dojo, carefully maintaining an open resting pose, keeping his mind empty and his senses alert. He felt the small shifts in the currents of the wind; he heard the rustling of the brush and the distant hum of the city; he smelled the delicate wafts of blossoming flowers from all over the mountainside. His concentration was intense, yet effortless. He was one with the world around him.

It was no surprise to him, then, when Badgerclops sat down next to him. His senses were finely attuned, impervious to any sort of sneaky approach. Badgerclops didn’t join him for meditation often, but it wasn’t entirely unheard of. Mao Mao suspected he was there to clear his head after yesterday’s encounter.

But Badgerclops’s breathing didn’t shift to match his. _He’s not here to meditate,_ Mao Mao realized. _This is an interruption._ “What is it, Badgerclops?” Mao Mao asked, keeping his eyes closed and his spine straight.

“We... we need to talk about a plan for Raptor.”

_Not this again._ Mao Mao was already struggling to keep himself in the zone after not sleeping half the night. Badgerclops’s incursion threatened to topple his unclouded mental state. “Badgerclops, we talked about this. I have it handled. You don’t need to worry.”

Mao Mao heard Badgerclops’s claws scrape a short distance along the wooden floor. Curling his hand into a fist, maybe? “No, Mao Mao, I do need to worry! It’s my fault he’s here! I’m the one who…” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Mao Mao sighed too. This kind of energy wasn’t conducive to a meditative headspace. He turned to face Badgerclops, opening his eyes. They’d sort this out quickly, and then he’d get back to training. “Why won’t you just let me handle this?”

“Can you just… hear me out, man?”

Mao Mao nodded.

Badgerclops tapped his claws on the floor a few times, thinking. “Mao Mao, we… We can’t take any chances with Raptor, ok? He’s like, seriously dangerous.”

It was unlike Badgerclops to be so insistent. There was something more going on here, and Mao Mao was going to get to the bottom of it. “Why is he after you?” 

The question seemed to surprise Badgerclops. He shifted uncomfortably in place and looked away from Mao Mao. “Before I met you, we…” A long moment passed while Badgerclops hesitated. “...We were partners.”

_“Partners?!”_ Mao Mao gasped, unable to stop himself. He cursed internally; he was trying to be supportive and listen like Badgerclops had asked. It was just a bit shocking that Badgerclops had had anything to do with such a vile criminal.

“It was a long time ago!” Badgerclops said defensively. “I… worked with Raptor a lot. We were pretty high-profile. So, like… you remember when Tanya came to collect my bounty, right?” Mao Mao nodded. “Well, I didn’t get money on my head from robbing random travelers on backwater roads. To get a bounty like that, you really have to work for it.”

“What kind of work?” Mao Mao pressed. 

Badgerclops hung his head. “Hold-ups, heists, robberies… Usually we stole money, but sometimes we’d take jewelry or paintings. That was always a whole thing, ‘cause then we’d have to clean off any prints, find a fence…” Badgerclops gestured vaguely, realizing he’d gone off on a tangent. “Point is, we were like, serious criminals.”

“Wait, so you weren’t just a Thicket Thief?” Mao Mao didn’t understand. Badgerclops had never mentioned any of this before. Just how much was he hiding?

Badgerclops shook his head.

Inside, Mao Mao was reeling. Acidic nausea clutched at his stomach. “Did you hurt anyone?”

“I… I had to… make some examples of some people.” Badgerclops wrung his hands. “To keep things quiet.”

“You…” Mao Mao couldn’t even finish the sentence. His breathing quickened. He’d trusted Badgerclops, he was even stupid enough to call him a friend, and now he was finding out that he’d been lied to this entire time. Badgerclops wasn’t just some down-on-his-luck pickpocket; he was a real, vicious criminal! And he’d tricked Mao Mao to earn his friendship! A sense of vertigo overtook him, as if the world had flipped upside down. He’d been through this enough times before to know what was happening; this was how it always felt. Badgerclops had betrayed him. 

“I wanted to stop… I wanted it all to stop so badly,” Badgerclops said, his voice shaking. “I didn’t want to hurt people. I just wanted to go away.”

“So why didn’t you stop?!” Mao Mao snapped. He couldn’t keep a lid on his anger.

“Mao, you can’t just… _quit_ being a criminal! I had a bounty on my head! I couldn’t work a normal job, or sleep without a guard ‘cause of the bounty hunters. I couldn’t turn myself in, and Raptor… He…” Badgerclops trembled, his mouth opening and closing like he was trying to speak but couldn’t.

“Why is he after you?!” Mao Mao demanded.

Badgerclops cringed. His breaths had become fast and shallow. He clenched and unclenched his hand repeatedly. “I set him up! I came up with a job, said it was a standard house robbery. I would wait in the getaway car and act as a lookout while he grabbed the goods. At the first sign of trouble, we’d split. But as soon as he went inside, I called the cops.”

Mao Mao’s eyes went wide. _He betrayed his old partner. Like Bao Bao betrayed me._

“But I couldn’t leave anything up to chance.” Badgerclops’s voice was deathly serious. “So right when he was about to hop in the car, I… I shot him through the stomach.” 

Mao Mao was horrified. Now he understood why Badgerclops had been so ready to fire a shot at Raptor’s head while his back was turned. And why he had taken Raptor’s leg off after their fight. _He’ll do the same to you,_ Mao Mao thought. _He’s been a criminal all along._

“I needed him to be there with the loot when the cops came, so there’d be enough evidence to convict him. I needed him to… to be in so much pain that he couldn’t run away. A-and I couldn’t just stun him, Mao! I had to send a message to all of his connections, so they wouldn’t come after me!”

Mao Mao could hear his own pulse roaring like water in his ears. “And then what?” he heard himself ask.

“I drove the getaway car as far as it would go. I didn’t know where I was going, just… away. And then when it ran out of gas, I ditched it and started walking. At some point the Thicket Thieves tried to jump me, but I beat them up pretty bad. And then, I figured…” Badgerclops put his hand on the back of his neck. “I needed to keep a low profile, always be moving, y’know? And I couldn’t camp out at night alone without a lookout, because of the bounty hunters. So… the Thicket Thieves were exactly who I needed. And I knew they wouldn’t try to double-cross me too, ‘cause I just totally humiliated them like ten seconds ago.”

Mao Mao said nothing. He could feel himself going numb.

“Then I figured I just had to wait for the right person to come along on the road. When I saw you, I knew you were perfect. Always on the move, looking for a partner, willing to keep watch at night.” He listed out these qualities on his fingers. “I knew that if I traveled with you, I could get out. And…” Badgerclops looked at him for the first time since he’d started this story. “And you were a hero.”

The sentence cut through Mao Mao’s panic like a sharp beam of light. He resurfaced for a moment, confused. “W-what?”

“You were a hero. I thought that maybe if I learned from you, I might…” Badgerclops shook his head. “Forget it.”

Learn from him? What the hell did Badgerclops mean? The adrenaline fog began to clear from Mao Mao’s head. Badgerclops _did_ mention wanting to stop being a criminal. Maybe he’d thought that if he told Mao Mao everything, he wouldn’t even give him a chance to improve…

Mao Mao realized with surprise that Badgerclops was talking. “...so I think the best shot we have is to ambush him.”

“Wait, what?” Mao Mao blinked. “You want us to set an ambush?”

“It’s the only option. We set up in the trees around one of the bends in the path, then drop down and take care of him before he can react. I can get a shot off on him before he even knows we’re there.”

Mao Mao stared at him for a moment. “Badgerclops, you can’t just… attack someone from behind like that! I thought you wanted to be a hero! Where’s your honor?”

Badgerclops looked upset. “Mao, this is serious!” He gestured towards town angrily. “We have to protect the city!”

Mao Mao made an exasperated noise. “That doesn’t mean we can cheat like common criminals! Besides, I already told you I’d take care of it. This is my fight!”

Badgerclops’s eye twitched. “YOUR fight? Ugh, you’re so selfish! Not everything is about your stupid heroic legend, Mao Mao! He was MY partner! And we have to keep the sweetypies safe! We can’t take any chances!” Badgerclops pointed at Mao Mao. “ _You_ just want a rematch because he kicked your ass last time!”

“That is NOT true!” Mao Mao jumped to his feet, fury rising. “I am TRYING to live up to my family’s legacy of heroism, Badgerclops! Something you’d understand if you had any HONOR! But _you_ think it’s okay to attack people from the bushes and shoot them in the stomach like a lowlife criminal!”

Badgerclops stood up as well. “What are you implying?” His voice was cold. Challenging.

“I don’t know,” Mao Mao said, grinning. “Why don’t you ask your friend Raptor?”

In an instant Badgerclops had Mao Mao by the throat. “Say that again,” he growled, a blast charging in his metal arm. He took aim at Mao Mao’s face.

Mao Mao struggled to breathe. “I said-”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

They both turned to see Adorabat outside the front door, shrieking. Badgerclops immediately dropped Mao Mao, backing away a few steps.

“Mao Mao!!” she screamed, barreling towards him, “What happened?! Did Badgerclops turn evil?!” She held up her wings in a karate pose copied from some movie.

Badgerclops looked at Mao Mao, tears in his eye. He chuckled weakly. “No Adorabat, I’ve always been a villain. Right, Mao?” He turned and walked out of the dojo, breaking into a sprint as he disappeared down the mountain path that lead to town.

“Badgerclops!” Adorabat called after him. She flitted back and forth between Mao Mao and the head of the trail, distraught.

Mao Mao dusted himself off. His throat burned from Badgerclops’s grip. The pain was good; it made the betrayal make sense. Badgerclops had always been a criminal, and he’d lied about it to gain Mao Mao’s trust so he could stab him in the back. And when confronted about it, he tried to kill Mao Mao and then left. Abandoned him like everyone else he’d ever trusted.

Mao Mao deserved the pain for thinking he would be any different.

He glanced up at Adorabat and motioned to her as he rigidly returned to his meditative pose. “Come on, Adorabat. Meditate with me.”

* * *

Badgerclops stared at the ceiling of his room in Pure Heart’s only inn. It was marked all over with water damage stains, ugly discolored spots of mildew and rot. The walls were covered in peeling wallpaper. A large chunk of the bed’s headboard was missing. In short, the place was a dump.

Badgerclops hated it. It reminded him of the places he’d used to stay back before he met Mao Mao. Night after night, drifting from shitty room to shitty room. His stomach curdled. He wanted to be back at home, lying on the couch with Mao Mao and watching TV. He felt sick just being here, this close to his old life. But that fight had made it very clear that Badgerclops wasn’t welcome anymore. This was the only place he had to stay.

He sighed and rolled off the bed, plodding to the bathroom. Anywhere was better than that dismal bed. He stared at himself in the mirror, analyzing his face as though it was a stranger’s. _Eyepatch. No good guy has an eyepatch._ Sure, he could take it off, but the scar underneath was even worse. _Maybe a softer expression will help…_ He tried to smile, but it came out toothy and menacing. Frustrated, he tried again, waving his arm like he was saying hello to a friend. His… metal arm. His cold, robotic arm that was also a deadly weapon. Which he’d aimed at his only real friend mere hours ago. Pain and rage swirled in his gut. _Of course I couldn’t be a hero. Just look at me. How could I ever be anything else?_ He wanted to punch the mirror, to shatter the face he saw looking back at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He just… stared at it. It was reality. What else could he do?

A hot, salty tear ran down his cheek. He barely registered it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trauma is a hell of a thing, huh? More next week.


	4. Schism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badgerclops comes back home, but things don't go how Mao Mao hoped they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, I'll be posting new chapters every 3 days instead of every week! So check back for frequent updates :3
> 
> Also, I want to give a massive thank-you to my boyfriend Foxy, who beta-read this entire fic and gave an incredible amount of useful feedback. This would be a much worse piece of writing without his help, especially in this chapter and the previous one.

Badgerclops returned the next morning. Mao Mao had been in the middle of eating an omelette when he appeared, silhouetted in the doorway. He looked a bit unkempt, like he hadn’t slept. “Badgerclops?” Mao Mao’s voice was hopeful. _Maybe he’s here to apologize to me!_

But Badgerclops didn’t respond. He walked past Mao Mao and straight to adorabat. “Good morning, Adorabat! How was breakfast?” Everything about him was bright and cheery. He stuck his hand out to Adorabat for a high five.

She looked up at him, scared, and didn’t move.

Badgerclops’s expression soured. He pulled his arm away, dropping the cheerful act. “I’ll be in the garage,” he said to no one in particular, disappearing down the pole and slamming the trap door shut behind him.

Mao Mao and Adorabat looked at each other uncertainly. Loud mechanical sounds clanged up from the basement workshop. Mao Mao stared down at his half-eaten omelette, a wave of nausea spreading over him. He let his silverware clatter onto the plate and stood up. “Adorabat,” he said, his voice a little shaky, “I’m going to go talk to Badgerclops. Stay up here, okay?” He was nervous, though he couldn’t quite tell why.

She nodded.

Mao Mao quietly reopened the trapdoor that Badgerclops had slammed shut. The sounds of work echoing up from below grew louder. His stomach twisted around itself as he slid down into the garage. Something was seriously wrong; he could feel it in the air as he touched down silently. He knew he’d hurt Badgerclops badly yesterday. No matter how hard they’d argued before, Badgerclops had _never_ gotten physical. Mao Mao rubbed a hand against his own throat, recalling the pain. In that moment he had been so furious, he’d wanted to keep on provoking and pushing Badgerclops even when he couldn’t breathe. It made him feel superior. If Badgerclops was angry and he was calm, then he was still the one in control, even if he was being strangled. If Badgerclops was hurting him, a hero, then that made Badgerclops a villain. And that meant Mao Mao was right about him. In the moment, he’d felt smug and certain that he was in the right. But when Badgerclops finally let him go and he saw tears in his eye, everything was suddenly complicated. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was the one who had fucked up.

Badgerclops was hunched over the work table. Mao Mao could only see him from behind. His robotic arm was disconnected at the shoulder, presumably laid down on the surface in front of him. Mao Mao couldn’t actually see, since the work area was blocked from view by Badgerclops’s massive body. His fur stood on end as an electric grinder whined to life, scraping against the arm’s metal plating. The high pitched sound set his teeth on edge. Flashes of sparks flew from the obscured table, temporarily silhouetting Badgerclops against their unnatural light.

Mao Mao cautiously walked around to the front of the table, where he could face Badgerclops. Badgerclops’s arm was indeed sitting on the work surface. He was grinding away some battle damage with a circular sander. The work seemed intense. 

If Badgerclops had seen Mao Mao move, he made no indication to show it. He simply placed down the sander and picked up a screwdriver and began to reattach a loose screw.

Mao Mao cleared his throat. “Um… Hey.”

Silence.

“Badgerclops, look, I…” He scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry about what I said yesterday.”

“Why?” Badgerclops asked confrontationally, not looking up from his work. 

“Why am I… sorry?” Mao Mao didn’t understand. _What’s with the tone?_ He thought. _I came down here to apologize to you!_

“Obviously you meant what you said.” He twisted harder and harder on the screw he was tightening, straining it against the metal until the plastic handle of the screwdriver snapped from the torque. He roared in anger and threw the broken tool to the floor, where it clattered loudly.

He looked up at Mao Mao. Mao Mao looked back, scared. _Good,_ Badgerclops thought. _He should be scared of me._

“I didn’t mean it, Badgerclops, I just…” Mao Mao put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed, closing his eyes. “Why can’t you just accept my apology and move on?”

Badgerclops looked at him. On any other night, in any other week, he would have simply let this slide. But between the stress, the self-loathing, and Mao Mao’s unbelievably aggravating half-apology, Badgerclops snapped.

“I’ll tell you why, Mao Mao! Because you don’t mean it! Because you’re a selfish, stunted narcissist who will gladly let the sweetypies burn as long as you get your heroic showdown! Because when I told you I was worried about Raptor, and I opened up to you about the things I’ve felt shitty about for years, you _somehow_ managed to make it about you and your stupid code!” Badgerclops grabbed his arm from the workbench, clicked it back into place, and began to advance on Mao Mao. “Every day you come to me with some emotional problem and I do everything I can to help you. I work my ass off to be a good hero and a good friend, Mao Mao! Because I care about you! And then the ONE time that I need something from you, you treat me like shit and call me a villain! Is that how you see me?!”

Mao Mao tried to back away, but he had already been driven into the corner of the room. “No, Badgerclops, that was-”

“Well you know what, Mao Mao? You’re right! I _am_ a villain!” Badgerclops felt grimly empowered by the panic in Mao Mao’s eyes. He was shouting now. “I hurt people!” He picked Mao Mao up by the neck of his cape. Mao Mao scrabbled at the cold metal surface of his arm, trying to push it away. “I steal! I kill!” He slammed Mao Mao against the wall with a roar. A nearby bookshelf tipped and came crashing to the floor, various tchotchkes from their adventures clattering across the room. Mao Mao heard some glass break. “You said it yourself! I’ve always been a monster!” Badgerclops threw Mao Mao to the ground, the sudden impact collapsing him into a heap.

“So that’s why I didn’t accept your apology,” Badgerclops said, striding towards the Aerocycle. “Because you were right.” He climbed onto the bike that they’d ridden together so many times before.

Mao Mao scrambled to his feet. “Wait, Badgerclops! I’m sorry!” He stumbled towards the bike, wincing and clutching at his side. He was definitely injured.

Badgerclops started up the machine. “I only came back to tune up my arm. This is goodbye, Mao Mao. For good.”

Mao Mao grasped at the void where the Aerocycle had been a moment ago. He watched it burst through the waterfall and disappear into the resulting mist. A shower of icy water splashed across his face. Then everything was quiet. 

He looked at the knick knacks scattered across the floor. The snapped screwdriver. The toppled bookshelf. He turned over a face-down picture frame and saw that it had shattered. Inside was a photo of the two of them, arms around each other, smiling and waving at a crowd. Badgerclops had clipped this from a newspaper; it was the first time they’d ever made the news together.

He threw it to the ground, disgusted. “Stupid badger!” He yelled at the waterfall. “I don’t need you anyway!” He picked up one half of the screwdriver and chucked it through the curtain of water with a loud, furious shout. And then he just stood there, breathing heavily.

 _One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe._ He attempted to calm himself.

“Umm, Mao Mao? Are you okay?” Adorabat asked. Mao Mao turned and saw her slowly sliding down the pole, surveying the destroyed room. She looked nervous. “What happened?”

Mao Mao took another careful breath, then sighed. “Nothing happened, Adorabat. Badgerclops just left us with another mess to clean up. As usual!” He began to pointedly gather up the shards of broken keepsakes that now decorated the floor.

Adorabat walked over and stood where the Aerocycle had been parked. “Is Badgerclops gonna come back?” She sounded sad.

“What, and help deal with the disaster he made?” Mao Mao chuckled darkly, then grimaced at the chest pain it caused. “No Adorabat, I don’t think he will.”

* * *

Badgerclops flew the Aerocycle in a wide, sweeping arc around Pure Heart Valley. The cold air tore at his unprotected face. He didn’t know where he was going, only away from Mao Mao and Adorabat. His eye stung with tears.

He swooped down towards the inn where he’d stayed the previous night, then reconsidered. He couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping there again, and he didn’t want Mao Mao to find him either. So he ascended again and flew off towards the forest. He scanned for streams in elevated locations. If he was going to set up a camp, he’d need fresh water.

The simple labor of building a camp would distract him once he landed. He’d always liked setting them up with Mao Mao. But for now, he was stuck stewing in his thoughts as he searched for a suitable site. A numb sense of isolation gripped him like a fist. He couldn’t go back home to their headquarters, but he couldn’t leave Pure Heart Valley either. Raptor wouldn’t go away if he did; he’d burn the whole city to the ground and take Adorabat and Mao Mao as hostages just to lure him back.

Badgerclops spotted a good location and zoomed down towards it. No matter what he did now, he’d lose everything. He’d already left his new home and his only true friends. His family. Badgerclops shook his head sadly. He was stupid for thinking that things could have ever turned out differently here.

The Aerocycle touched down on a patch of grass. Badgerclops stepped off of it mechanically. He surveyed the site. Of course Raptor had shown up. Of course he couldn’t be happy for once. No matter how far he ran, or how hard he tried to change and be good, his past would always catch up to him. The campsite seemed fine.

He stared from the elevated clearing down towards the forest path. He would be able to see any approaching parties pretty easily from here. He began to gather up rocks for a fire pit. As far as he could tell, there was only one option. He’d fight Raptor and his gang himself, alone, and hope for the best. He could offer himself up to them, his life in exchange for the safety of the valley and all its residents, but he knew Raptor would just laugh at him and burn everything anyway before killing him. He couldn’t ask Mao Mao for help. Even if he did, it would just put Mao Mao back in danger. The only way to keep everyone safe was for Badgerclops to fight alone, and hope that killing him in battle would be enough to sate Raptor’s thirst for revenge.

It wasn’t long before he’d built up a decent-sized fire pit by an overhanging rock. He still needed wood, and it was way too early in the day to start a fire anyway, but he felt some small sense of satisfaction that it was done. He’d start making the space beneath that rock into a comfortable place to sleep now. He sighed. He wished he wasn’t doing this alone. Not just making the camp, but dealing with Raptor. But Mao Mao had made it clear that he didn’t want him around at all. Hell, maybe that was for the better; the only way to keep Mao Mao and Adorabat safe from Raptor was to keep them out of this entirely. It was Badgerclops’s burden to bear anyway.

His stomach growled, rousing him from his thoughts. He checked the time on his arm. Some lunch would be nice. He hiked off into the forest, looking for plants he could eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More on Monday! I hope everyone will enjoy seeing this update more frequently.


	5. A New Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Badgerclops press on with their lives alone, separated for good. Mao Mao comes to a realization.

Mao Mao deftly twirled the bo staff in his hands, screaming as he swiped its tip towards the training dummy. It struck home with a resounding _thwack._ The force of the blow tore the dummy’s head clean off its shoulders, sending it soaring over the dojo’s open railing and down the mountainside. Mao Mao stood there panting, sweat dripping down his back. He yelled again for good measure. It had been two days since Badgerclops had abandoned him, and he was just as furious now as he had been then.

He fingered the bruise on his neck unconsciously. _That asshole._ Mao Mao had never needed him anyway. Badgerclops was just another hanger-on trying to ride his coattails to heroic glory. And he was a villain, too. He and Adorabat could handle protecting the legendary Ruby Pure Heart just fine without Badgerclops.

Mao Mao clattered through the screen door into their HQ, prowling towards the kitchen for some water. The evening sun streamed through the western windows. He jerked the fridge open angrily. His water bottle rattled in the door shelf. He tried to grab it angrily, but couldn’t think of a way to do so. He knew he was being performative, but he had to stay mad. Because if he didn’t… 

He stole a glance at the couch. It was empty, and the TV was off. Normally when he came in from training, Badgerclops was there. But now he was gone. Creeping sadness gnawed at his stomach, attempting to displace the anger. He growled, pushing it down. “Adorabat!” He called. Surely spending some time with her would keep his spirits up.

There was no response.

“...Adorabat?” Mao Mao said again, stepping out of the kitchen and looking around. She wasn’t in the living room, or the office. He glanced at the jail cell, in case she was playing inside it again, but she wasn’t there either. “Hey, Adorabat!” He repeated as he checked the bedroom. No sign of her there either. He was beginning to get nervous.

Then his eyes lighted on the fire pole down to the garage, and his blood ran cold. He hadn’t returned to that room since the day that Badgerclops had left. No point in going back there without the Aerocycle, after all. It wasn’t like he was _afraid,_ of course; he was a hero! The very notion of fear was laughable! But… 

A slight noise floated up from below as if on cue. Something gripped his stomach. He didn’t want to check down there. He stood, frozen, waiting for Adorabat to appear on her own so that he wouldn’t have to see that place again.

But nothing happened. So he slowly, robotically moved towards the pole. He swallowed heavily and grabbed on to it, stepping out over the void. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip until he began to move down the cold metal pipe. The room below stuttered into view as he started and stopped. It looked the same as it always had, and somehow Mao Mao found that a surprise. He had expected it to still be a shattered mess, even though he’d been the one to clean it up. The room’s eerie normalcy didn’t make sense. “Adorabat?” he said, his paws touching down on the slightly damp floor.

“I’m over here!” she called from somewhere to his right. 

Mao Mao stepped out and turned to the right. There was Badgerclops’s workstation, pristine as ever. Meticulously organized tools lined the walls, hung from a pegboard backing which Badgerclops had put up himself. On the counter beneath them were several small plastic bins, all carefully labeled and arranged into neat stacks. They contained all sorts of tiny parts; nuts and bolts, electrical resistors, little screws… Everything Badgerclops could have needed for his gadgets was there. A simple circuit sat on the counter as well, two wires hooked up to a battery and a lightbulb. Mao Mao recalled Badgerclops mentioning something about teaching Adorabat how electricity worked.

Badgerclops had built this place himself back when they first moved in. He was so excited about it; he couldn’t stop saying how great it was to finally have a workshop where he could take care of himself. No more scrounging through a duffel bag full of parts with his detached arm sitting on a tree stump. Everything in here was important to Badgerclops. Mao Mao hated it.

“Mao Mao?” Adorabat said. He turned to look at her. She was sitting on top of the workbench. Mao Mao’s stomach churned as he remembered what had happened there. Badgerclops’s hulking silhouette, framed in a shower of sparks. The way he’d yelled when he snapped that screwdriver. The menacing _ka-chunk_ of his arm locking back into place as he approached. Mao Mao felt his breathing quicken. He didn’t want to be in this room. 

Something squeezed his hand. Mao Mao looked down and saw that Adorabat had scooted to the edge of the workbench surface and grabbed a hold of him, looking up at his face with concern. He gasped in some air, suddenly breathing again like he had just finished running a marathon. His chest rose and fell noticeably with each puff of air. He wiped at his face, brushing away a tear he hadn’t realized was there. It only took a moment for his breathing to return to normal.

He smiled forcedly at Adorabat. “Adorabat! Why are you down here?”

She looked at the ground, sad. Her wings kept their grip on his hand. “I miss Badgerclops.”

Mao Mao looked around the room again. The newspaper clipping sat in its broken frame. A screwdriver was missing from the tool wall. The Aerocycle was gone. He sighed and moved his hand to Adorabat’s head. “I miss him too.”

“I made a drawing for when he gets back!” Adorabat pointed to the thing she’d been working on at the bench. It was a drawing of the three of them, standing outside their HQ. She’d very carefully colored in Badgerclops’s fur and metal arm, and even drew a background. It was obvious that Adorabat had worked very hard on the drawing.

Mao Mao’s throat was tight. “That’s really good, Adorabat! I’m… I’m sure he’ll love it when he comes home.” _IF he comes home,_ Mao Mao thought.

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Hey, Adorabat,” Mao Mao said, “why don’t you go up to the kitchen and pick out something for dinner? I’ll be right up.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yay!!” She flew back up out of the garage, leaving Mao Mao alone.

Mao Mao turned back to the workbench. He felt hollow; the anger was gone. He couldn’t do this anymore. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t hate Badgerclops; not after everything he’d done for him. It felt wrong to keep going without him. _Everything_ felt wrong without him! The workshop was empty. The couch was empty. The fridge was full. And Mao Mao was alone. Quiet tears began to pour down his face as the barely audible sobs passed over his body in waves. This was a fuck-up he couldn’t fix. Badgerclops was gone for good. 

* * *

Badgerclops stared at the forest path through a pair of thermal binoculars. Still no sign of Raptor. He was sick of keeping watch all night, alone in the cold. A fire crackled behind him, but it wasn’t warm the way HQ was. He sighed. This had to end soon. He was getting tired; not the kind of tiredness that would go away with an afternoon nap, but the kind of tiredness that took up residence deep within his bones. An aching weariness that felt like nothing could ever chase it away.

Something moved on the path. Two heat signatures. Badgerclops’s heart leapt into his throat. He scrambled to his feet, preparing to slip into ambush position. A blade snapped out of his metal arm with a sharp mechanical whir, puncturing the nighttime silence. The figures in the binoculars drew closer. He could see their outlines clearly now…

Penny and Benny skipped down the forest path, holding hands and swinging their arms. One of them was holding a picnic basket.

Badgerclops collapsed back to the ground and groaned at the sky. “Stupid sweetypies!” He yelled. The adrenaline was still coursing through his body. “I mean seriously, who the hell picnics in the woods at midnight?!” The quiet night gave him no reply except for the slight rustle of a breeze. It sucked not having anybody to talk to.

He stared up at the stars, his breaths slowing. The frantic tingling faded from his limbs. Cold blades of grass pricked at the fur on the back of his ears. Suddenly his breaths began to catch in his throat. The night sky blurred above him. This whole stupid thing was all his fault. Everything was. _Stupid, stupid badger._ He roughly wiped the tears from his eye and sat up again, trying to control his breathing. He had a job to do. After everything he’d fucked up, the least he could do was hold Raptor off.

* * *

Adorabat was unusually quiet at breakfast the next morning. Mao Mao looked at her with concern. She’d barely touched her cereal, and it was her favorite. He watched as she swirled the spoon among the sugary milk dejectedly. Something was obviously wrong. He looked up from his plate and cleared his throat, getting her attention. “What’s the matter, Adorabat? You aren’t eating.”

She sighed, dropping her spoon and letting it slide to rest against the edge of the bowl. “...Is Badgerclops ever going to come home?”

Mao Mao felt a sharp pang of guilt. He realized that he hadn’t really told Adorabat anything about what was going on. _Idiot!_ She could have imagined any number of horrible situations with the tiny sliver of knowledge she had. She might think Badgerclops was evil, or dead, or… Realization curdled his stomach. _She probably thinks she did something wrong that made him leave._ Mao Mao felt horrible. How could he let her feel that way?! He was the one who had made the mistake, not Adorabat!

He reached across the table and grabbed her wing. She looked up at him, surprised. “Adorabat, I…” Mao Mao struggled to find the right words. He wanted to tell her that Badgerclops would be back soon, but that wasn’t true. There was no easy answer here. His grip on her wing tightened slightly. “I don’t know if Badgerclops is going to come back.” She looked down, crestfallen. Mao Mao pressed on. “I said some mean things to him, and we had a fight. It’s… my fault he left.” He felt like shit, saying it out loud.

Adorabat stared at him, confused. “Then… why don’t you just go talk to him?”

A flash of anger gripped him. “Because HE-” Mao Mao stopped himself. Speaking rashly from anger was how he got into this mess in the first place. He sighed. “...because I don’t want to make things worse than they already are. Last time I tried to apologize, we just got into another fight.”

“But… but he’s your friend!”

Mao Mao’s lips tightened. Sure, Badgerclops was his friend before. But could he still be? After all of this? And could Mao Mao even trust him?

When Mao Mao didn’t reply, Adorabat shifted uncomfortably. “Um, Mao Mao?” Her voice was small.

He shook himself from his thoughts. She still looked worried. “What is it, Adorabat?”

“Maybe Badgerclops is scared because of Raptor?”

Mao Mao scoffed. “Badgerclops, scared? Please, he’s always… fine…” He slowed to a halt as realization kindled in his brain. _Badgerclops is scared…_ His eyes widened as the events of the past week replayed in his head. Badgerclops had grabbed his hand after Raptor first showed up. He’d been distant that night he was on lookout, and kept waiting for Mao Mao to say something. And he’d told Mao Mao everything about his past that he was ashamed of while practically begging for help. _Idiot!_ He thought. _Badgerclops didn’t attack you because he’s a villain; he lashed out because he was scared and needed comfort, but you ignored him!_

His heartbeat pulsed in his ears. Now things made sense. His mind was racing with things he’d done wrong, signals he’d missed and mistakes he wanted to apologize for. He thought of Badgerclops, somewhere out there in the world, alone and afraid. Surely he was convinced that Mao Mao wouldn’t come to find him. If Mao Mao had been so oblivious to everything he needed before, why would this be any different? Steely determination coursed through Mao Mao’s body. There was too much at stake to let things stay as they were. One thought drowned out all the others in his head: _I’m coming to help._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good thing everyone has been coping so well during this time apart, huh! healthy mechanisms all around :^)


	6. Clearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Adorabat race to the forest to find Badgerclops and set things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is a little late - I had some edits to make, but I wasn't in much of a writing mood until today. Huge thanks to my boyfriend for his help with the final editing here.

Mao Mao shot down the fire pole into the garage, barely slowing himself as he fell. “Come on, Adorabat!!” He shouted up behind him. His feet barely touched the cold floor as he leapt towards the Aerocycle’s parking space. The rushing roar of the waterfall filled his ears. He took a deep breath and let out a loud whistle, a series of sharp notes cutting through the air. Calling the Aerocycle back home.

Adorabat appeared beside him, alarmed. “Where are we going? What’s going on?!”

“We’re going to find Badgerclops!” Mao Mao shouted. He strained his ears, waiting to hear the whir of the approaching Aerocycle. Giddy adrenaline coursed through his veins. His pulse roared. He could make this right. He didn’t have to lose Badgerclops.

“But I thought you didn’t want to talk to him!”

Mao Mao shoved his helmet on, thrusting Adorabat’s towards her. “No Adorabat, you were right! I understand what I did wrong now! We’re going to help him!”

She strapped the helmet on and flew in an excited loop. “Woohoo!” Then she tilted her head, confused. “Wait… how do you know where he went?”

“I don’t!” Mao Mao replied, laughing. Just then, the Aerocycle burst through the waterfall, showering him in icy droplets. He flung his arms out, gleefully letting it soak him. A moment later, he was seated on the Aerocycle’s comfortably padded seat. “I’ll explain in the air!” 

Adorabat sat behind him, a little hesitant. In an instant, they were flying. She gripped the vehicle tightly. “So how are we going to find Badgerclops?” she shouted to Mao Mao.

“Simple!” Mao Mao called back. “He’s my best friend, Adorabat! We camped together for years!” He flew the Aerocycle in a sweeping arc towards the forest, scanning the canopy below. “He wouldn’t have left the valley with the threat of Raptor coming back, because he’s scared about the sweetypies getting hurt. That means he must be someplace where he can see the path to the city and keep watch.” Mao Mao brought them lower. “Look for natural clearings; we set up camps there to prevent forest fires. And he has to be near fresh water for drinking, so keep an eye out for streams.”

The forest rushed past below them. Adorabat whipped her head around, searching for a spot that matched Mao Mao’s description. They circled the canopy like an enormous predatory bird. Clearings rushed past on either side of them, but none of them had any sign of a camp. Finally a clearing appeared to their right that looked like it could be the one. It was elevated, with a very clear view of the path, and was backed by a rocky cliff on one side that would prevent surprise attacks. But there was a weird rock in the middle… Adorabat squinted, leaning forward, then gasped and grabbed Mao Mao’s arm. “Mao Mao, look! Over there!”

Mao Mao turned his head and felt his heart jump to his throat. It was unmistakable; Badgerclops was lying on his stomach in the middle of the clearing, pointed straight at the road. A burnt-out fire pit filled with charred wood sat behind him. This was his camp. Mao Mao wheeled the Aerocycle around, shooting down towards the clearing. He kept his eyes locked on Badgerclops the entire time.

The sound of humming slowly grew louder. Badgerclops had been ignoring it up until now, focused on keeping watch, but now he looked up. His binoculars fell from his hands. Mao Mao was there, on the Aerocycle, barrelling towards his camp. He scrambled to his feet, dodging out of the way of the bike. It careened to a stop near the cliff face.

Before the engine’s roar had even died down, Mao Mao’s feet were on the ground. He looked at Badgerclops. He looked… bad. His eye was both puffy and bloodshot, like he’d been crying a lot but not sleeping. Dirt, grass, and leaves poked out from his fur. The shiny metal of his arm was scratched and dull in some places.

They stared at each other across the short distance. Adorabat looked on timidly, peeking out from behind the Aerocycle. A long moment passed. Now that Badgerclops was actually in front of him, Mao Mao couldn’t think of what to say. The space between them was too vast. He’d flown here with the strongest conviction in the world to fix things, but now it seemed impossible. He thumbed the neck of his cape awkwardly. “Um… hey.”

Badgerclops just stared at him in disbelief. Then he clenched his fists. “Go away, Mao Mao. Don’t you have  _ hero _ stuff to do?” He asked resentfully, turning his back on Mao Mao.

For a moment, Mao Mao faltered. It hurt to hear those words. But as stupid as he had been before, he knew Badgerclops. He could hear the tiredness in his voice. He wasn’t going to fuck this up again. 

Mao Mao approached Badgerclops slowly. The Aerocycle had fallen silent by now, leaving them wrapped in nothing but the quiet ambiance of the forest. With the distance between them cut to nothing, Mao Mao reached out his hands and gently took hold of Badgerclops’s metal arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand before.”

Badgerclops remained still. Mao Mao felt like he could barely breathe. The tension in the air was almost suffocating. If this went wrong, that would be the end of it. The end of them. _ Please, _ Mao Mao thought,  _ please let this work. _

Then Badgerclops turned to face him. There were tears in the corner of his eye. “Why did you come back?” he asked shakily. “I told you I was leaving.”

Mao Mao swallowed hard. “Because I’m the one who screwed things up. And… you shouldn’t have to face him alone because of me.” His brain was churning out sentences at a breakneck pace, revising and rewriting them into the apology that Badgerclops deserved. This had never been Mao Mao’s strong suit, but now more than ever he needed to get it right. “Badgerclops, I’m really sorry. I should have listened to you when you tried to talk to me about Raptor. I was… selfish. You opened up to me about your past, and I made it about me. I called you a villain when you were trying to ask for help. That was really shi-” he glanced at Adorabat standing behind the Aerocycle- “really bad of me, and I’m sorry. I was too caught up in my own drama to realize that you were upset. I mean, I never even paid enough attention to you to realize that you weren’t okay after Raptor showed up! I was a bad hero, and an even worse friend.” Mao Mao could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn’t stop to wipe them. “Badgerclops, I can’t do this alone. I’m so sorry about everything I said. You’re a better friend than I’ll ever be, and I have so much to learn from you. Please come back to the station. I… I need you.” Even after all this, it was still a bit painful to admit that. Some harsh part of his brain sneered at him for being so pathetic. He pressed on. “You’re not a bad guy, Badgerclops; you’re a hero, and I want you on my team.”

A long moment passed. Mao Mao didn’t dare look up at Badgerclops’s face to see his reaction. He just stared at the trees ahead, watching the dappled sun shift on their trunks as the canopy of leaves gently shook in the breeze. Then he heard a strange sound and turned instinctively to look. It was Badgerclops, of course. A choked sob forced its way through his lips. Tears began to flow from his eye, pouring out with each fresh sob. His back arched and shuddered. Then suddenly he collapsed to the ground. He pulled Mao Mao down too, down into a tight embrace. Mao Mao felt Badgerclops’s heaving chest pressed up against his face, and heard Badgerclops’s sobbing in his ears. 

“Mao… I…” Badgerclops tried to speak, but every time he opened his mouth a fresh sob overtook him. The built-up stress and fear of the last week poured out, impossible to stop. Mao Mao carefully returned Badgerclops’s embrace, afraid that if he said anything now he’d somehow hurt him again. It felt horrible; so much of this was his fault. To have caused all this pain for the best friend he’d ever had… the remorse was almost overwhelming. As Badgerclops took another shuddering breath, Mao Mao swore to himself to do better in the future.

A third body joined them on the ground. Adorabat wrapped her wings around Badgerclops’s head, laying her cheek on his. “Badgerclops!! I missed you so much!” she said, nuzzling his fuzzy face.

Badgerclops began to chuckle, the hitching sobs shaking his body turning to small gasps of laughter. He sat up slowly, depositing Mao Mao to his side. The flow of tears down his cheek slowed as he continued to laugh, hiccuping every now and then. He wiped his face, a streak of snot and tears matting the fur beneath his eye. After a few more sniffles and gasping breaths, he managed to stop. His chest heaved with each sorely-needed inhale. He wrapped an arm around Mao Mao and puffed out a few last sighs. When he could finally speak again, he turned to Mao Mao.

“Thanks, Mao.” His voice was a little hoarse. He looked to his other side and gently rubbed Adorabat under her chin with one claw. “And I missed you too! Were you good while I was gone?”

“Mhm!” Adorabat nodded. She scooted closer to Badgerclops. 

He turned back to Mao Mao, who was looking up at him expectantly. He sighed, his expression falling a little. “I was afraid he’d go after you.”

“Raptor?”

Badgerclops nodded. “I thought maybe if I came out here and fought him alone, he wouldn’t have a reason to hurt you. Either I’d kill him, or he’d kill me… either way, that would be the end of it.” His voice grew weak again. “I… I was really scared, Mao. I’m sorry.”

Mao Mao rubbed his arm. “We’re together now. It’s alright.”

“He threatened my family before, back in Queen’s Puddleland. That was why I couldn’t get away. I never told him anything about them or where they lived, but he… he told me one day he dropped by for a visit. I didn’t want anything to happen to my family, even after I ran away from them. I just thought… he’d kill you just to get at me.”

Somehow that had never occurred to Mao Mao. Suddenly it made a lot more sense why Badgerclops had pushed him away and left to do things alone. “I’m sorry, Badgerclops. That sounds horrible.”

Badgerclops looked at him and smiled for a moment. “Thanks for coming to find me.” But then a darker expression overtook his face. He looked away. “Did I… hurt you?” Badgerclops asked, scraping at the dirt awkwardly with a claw.

Mao Mao shook his head. “Barely felt it,” he lied. “I’m… sorry I provoked you like that. You’re nothing like Raptor.”

Badgerclops stared ahead into the forest. The afternoon breeze had grown still. He shook his head in disagreement. “I shot his leg off, Mao. I tried to kill him when his back was turned. You said it yourself; good guys don’t do stuff like that.”

“I was wrong!” The words welled up and out of his mouth before he could even consider them. “You didn’t have a choice, Badgerclops; he came after you to _kill_ you! But instead of taking him out, you let him go. And you saved my life, too!” A nagging feeling tugged at Mao Mao’s brain, threads connecting in the background. The picture slowly coming together was… disquieting. _You said it yourself…_ Badgerclops’s words echoed. He pushed on, ignoring them for the moment. “Trying to kill him in town wasn’t the best idea, but… we wouldn’t be in this mess now if I hadn’t stopped you. We should have dealt with him together before he became a problem, but I was too focused on getting my own stupid showdown.”

“But I’m…” Badgerclops looked down at his hands. “I’m a bad guy. I hurt so many people before we met. Raptor… Raptor is here because of what I did.”

Before Badgerclops had even finished speaking, it clicked. Mao Mao was dumbstruck.  _ How long? _ He thought.  _ How long have I been making Badgerclops feel this way? _ The hopeless way he’d called himself a bad guy, how he blamed himself for everything… A sick feeling crawled its way through Mao Mao’s stomach as he recognized echoes of himself. Feeling like he could never be a hero, like everyone around him was always so much better than he was, like he was an unrecoverable failure and the cause of every problem. It was the way his father had made him feel.

Mao Mao could feel tears coming to his eyes. Tears of fury. How could he let himself become like _him?_ After every terrible thing Shin Mao had done to him, he’d turned around and done the same thing to Badgerclops without even knowing it. Why? Every lecture he’d ever given about the strict morality of the hero’s code replayed in his head. He was always correcting Badgerclops, pushing him aside, belittling him. Reducing him to a sidekick, or even a villain, just so he could feel more like a hero. This whole time he’d been acting just like his father, and he’d never even noticed! He curled his hand into a fist, squeezing it tighter and tighter until his whole body shook. Badgerclops looked at him, alarmed. Mao Mao trembled with rage. He had to set this right.

“No, Badgerclops! Stop saying that!” Badgerclops blinked in surprise. Mao Mao’s voice was forceful, full of conviction. “You’re not a bad guy! You’re a good person!” Mao Mao grabbed Badgerclops’s shoulders, looking right into his eye. “You risked  _ everything _ to get away from Raptor because you didn’t want to hurt people anymore! You teamed up with me because you wanted to help them! And when Raptor came back, you came out here to deal with him alone because you wanted to protect all of us! You’re a  _ hero _ , Badgerclops! I’m the one who messed everything up!” He thought about stopping there, but something told him he had to keep going. This was too important to wait.

“I should have listened to you when you told me about Raptor. I keep pushing you away like a… a sidekick, but you’re as much of a hero as I am. I was just too stupid and self-obsessed to admit it! I kept telling you that your way of doing things wasn’t right, but I need you!” The words were pouring out faster and faster now. “I thought I knew everything about heroism because of my family, and I wanted you to think so too. But I have so much to learn from you, Badgerclops! You put everything on the line to get away from Raptor and become a hero, and you prove that you deserve to be one every single day. So… stop saying you’re a bad guy!” 

“Yeah!” Adorabat chimed in, trying to help. “You were just worried about us!”

Mao Mao became acutely aware of how hard he was clutching Badgerclops’s shoulders. He loosened his grip, pulling back. The air suddenly felt deeply awkward. “Sorry I, uh… didn’t say any of that sooner.” He coughed dryly.

Then Badgerclops pulled him into another tight hug. Mao Mao could hear him sniffle a little, though it seemed like he was pretty much out of tears at this point. He patted Badgerclops’s back.

Badgerclops released him a moment later. “You really think I’m a good guy?” he asked, wiping at his eye again.

Mao Mao nodded.

“...Thanks, Mao.” He smiled, and Mao Mao felt the tension melt from his heart. It was a real, genuine smile. This wasn’t just Badgerclops trying to hide his feelings; for the first time since Raptor had shown up, Badgerclops was actually okay. Mao Mao breathed a sigh of relief and found himself smiling too. On a whim, he reached over and took Badgerclops’s hand.

“I’m glad you didn’t leave.”

“I mean, I did…” Badgerclops rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “You just came after me.” He looked at Mao Mao again. “But I’m glad you did.”

Mao Mao grinned at him. Then he sat up straighter and cleared his throat. “So, Badgerclops, now that we’re a team again, I have some very important hero training I need you to help me with.”

Badgerclops gave him an exhausted look.

Mao Mao couldn’t help himself. “Can you teach me how to set an ambush?”

He blinked, then grinned back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last couple of chapters coming up soon! Thanks everyone for reading!


	7. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raptor makes his return to the valley, backed up by a crew of thugs. Mao Mao, Badgerclops, and Adorabat attempt to fight them off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for violence and detailed descriptions of pain.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind. They flew back to HQ, where Badgerclops took a long shower and an even longer nap. He cried when Adorabat showed him her drawings, and then again when Mao Mao put clean sheets on the bed for him. By the next day they were back out in the forest, drilling their ambush formation. Badgerclops picked the perfect spot, just around a tight turn in the path surrounded by thick vegetation, and explained to Mao Mao and Adorabat how to hide themselves without obstructing their view of the road. They came up with an attack order and even picked out locations for traps.

Mao Mao was hesitant at first. Despite everything they’d been through, it still felt wrong. But he knew that Badgerclops was right about this. Their job was to protect Pure Heart Valley from danger, not make themselves look cool. So he pushed against his hero’s pride and listened to Badgerclops earnestly, suggesting ways to maximize their surprise damage and learning everything he could about coordinating a proper ambush. It slowly dawned on him that this was an entire style of combat that he knew nothing about, while Badgerclops excelled at it. There was a lot of planning involved, which Mao Mao had never been good at, and a perfectly-executed ambush could take a target out with no risk of damage to the town or its civilians. It wasn’t exactly heroic, but it was clean and precise. Given their situation, an ambush was the perfect option, but he’d been too blinded by his own ideas of heroism to see it.

By the end of that day, their plan was in place. They’d decided against laying any traps (the sweetypies were way too accident-prone for that to be safe), but with their combined skills and Badgerclops’s ambush strategy, they’d be able to handle a gang of five easily. They returned to HQ feeling confident. It was good to have a plan. 

===

The next evening, it happened. Four figures on the horizon, advancing confidently towards Pure Heart Valley. They stood silhouetted against the dusky sky for just a moment before disappearing into the shadows of the forest path. The blazing orange of the low sun draped the city in long ribbons of light, interspersed between dark blotches of shade. A general hubbub rose from the streets, carried across the distance on the wind. The sweetypies were enjoying a soft spring sunset, unaware of who was approaching through the thick vegetation.

Raptor cackled as one of the group finished a story. A wide variety of weapons hung from straps around his torso. They clanked against each other with every step, firebombs and guns writing their own atonal symphony. His compatriots were similarly equipped. The group stalked down the long path, unphased by the growing darkness around them.

Two piercing green eyes stared at them through thermal binoculars. The villains were bright red splotches against a barely-visible dark blue background. Mao Mao set the device aside and nodded to Badgerclops.  _ Go time.  _ Within moments they were speeding towards the forest, the Aerocycle humming low above the tops of the trees. They kept within the shadow of the mountain, shielding their movements from the encroaching enemies.

“You remember the plan?” Badgerclops asked as they touched down at the edge of the forest.

Mao Mao nodded, wheeling the Aerocycle into the brush and concealing it within the surrounding foliage. “Of course I do! Laser, smoke bomb, hand-to-hand. All four taken down before the smoke clears.”

Adorabat raised one of her smoke bombs in agreement. “We’re unstoppable!”

Badgerclops gently hushed her. “Remember, they can’t know we’re here. We have to be quiet, okay?” She nodded. “Let’s go.”

Pushing through the woods, they found their way to the ambush point. Mao Mao and Adorabat waited on one side of the path, concealed in the treetops above. Between their well-chosen hiding place and the dwindling blue light pervading the forest, they were nearly invisible even if you knew where to look. Badgerclops took up his position on the other side, crouching low behind a bush with his blaster trained on the road. His shot would signal the beginning of combat. By waiting to drop smoke until after the initial disorientation of his laser, they could buy themselves a couple of extra seconds of continued confusion.

With their ambush all set, there was nothing else to do but wait. It wasn’t long before the voices of Raptor and his party reached them through the trees. Mao Mao couldn’t quite see the gang from his position yet, but by the sound of their voices they’d come into view at any moment now. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat. The anticipation was almost as intense as staring down another swordsman before meeting blade-to-blade. He gripped the tree limb a little tighter. Raptor was visible now, seconds from rounding the corner. Their attack would spring at any moment. Mao Mao’s breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed the weapons dangling from the bodies of the four men approaching the city. They were fully prepared to burn Pure Heart Valley to the ground and kill anyone who tried to stop them. Badgerclops had been entirely right; this could never have been a fair fight. 

“...going to owe me for this, Raptor,” one of them was saying as he rounded the bend. A large, muscular otter with what appeared to be a massive flamethrower on his back.

“You’ll get your pay,” Raptor replied, two paces ahead, “once we get rid of Badgerclops for good.” He punched one hand into the palm of the other to accentuate the threat.

“Oh yeah?” chimed in a scarred lizard. “You better-”

At that moment, a bright white flash threw the scene into stark relief. The shadows of the four attackers cut inky gashes across the trunks of the nearby trees. A familiar ozone smell crackled in the air. There was a distinctive sweeping electronic sound. Then, all at once, the light dissipated, and Raptor was on the ground. 

There was no screaming yet, which didn’t surprise Mao Mao. The group below still had a few more milliseconds of shock left before they began to process what had just happened. That was a good thing for Raptor, because once it wore off he’d start to feel the hole that Badgerclops had just put in his stomach. It was a good shot; painful, but not lethal if treated properly. Mao Mao moved one hand to the hilt of his katana and prepared to jump down.

Just as Raptor opened his mouth to yell, Adorabat appeared in the sky above, and the scene erupted in smoke. 

“What the hell?!” the otter shouted. He began to cough as the smoke filled his lungs. A moment later, a blurred black figure dove from the trees and smashed him into the ground with a painful thud. Dazed, he turned his head just in time to see his assailant posed above him, katana raised to strike. He gasped as the blade swept down towards him. But it plunged straight past his body; instead there was the sharp sound of metal on metal, followed by a trickle of accelerant fluid onto the ground below. The flamethrower’s gas tank had been demolished. His hands were cuffed behind him an instant later, and the figure leapt away again.

The lizard whipped his head around wildly, firing two shotgun blasts into the all-encompassing smoke. The flash of the muzzle was dazzlingly bright in the particle-filled air. Smoke billowed and curled around the air currents trailing behind each fragmented shot. As he reached for another weapon - no time to reload - a massive silhouette suddenly appeared in the smoke before him, growing larger with each moment. A huge body ploughed into him, its sharp metallic shoulder tackling his chest and lifting him up like he weighed nothing. It tossed him unceremoniously into a thick tree trunk, where he slumped to the ground.

The third accomplice, a brown bear, simply raised his arms above his head amid the chaos. He stared straight ahead as his squad crumpled around him. A pair of bright green eyes emerged from the smoke in front of him.

“Good choice, criminal.” Mao Mao said. Then he flipped his sword around and planted the butt of its hilt firmly in the bear’s forehead, knocking him out cold.

The smoke began to dissipate. Raptor lay on the forest path, dirt and rocks pressed against the back of his head. He convulsed, coughing and spluttering as his lungs gasped for clean air. Each spasm sent a fresh, devastating wave of pain through his stomach. His vision was already blurring at the edges, and the stars and leaves slowly appearing above him through the smoke smeared and smudged like an impressionist painting. Something felt wrong in his throat, like his spit had turned to foam. He touched the wound on his stomach again in disbelief. The blood didn’t feel real, somehow. A one-eyed silhouette appeared above him, kneeling down to peer at him.

“Badgerclops,” he tried to spit at that face, but nothing came out. Another coughing fit overtook him, but this time he felt blood trickle down from the side of his mouth.

“Hey.” There was sadness in his voice, maybe even pity. “You probably shouldn’t talk, dude. You’re hurt.” His expression held no malice.

“Couldn’t…” Raptor rasped, “Couldn’t take me in a real fight?” He gripped the earth with his hands as the whole world seemed to tilt for a moment. In spite of everything, he did his damnedest to grin.

Badgerclops sighed, applying pressure to Raptor’s wound. “You haven’t changed a bit, huh?”

Raptor’s head spun as Badgerclops pressed down on his stomach. A pair of legs appeared in his peripheral vision. Mao Mao, probably. The figure reached down to give something to Badgerclops, who was talking again. The words seemed to slip away from Raptor as he tried to understand them. The world was steadily dimming. He tried to speak, but couldn’t quite remember how. A moment later, he slipped into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter left! It'll take a touch longer to release because I've got a few edits to make, but it will conclude this little saga. Thanks everyone for reading along!


	8. After All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio works with a certain tanuki to get all of the bad guys put away. Badgerclops and Mao Mao share a moment alone.

“She’ll be here in half an hour,” Mao Mao said to Badgerclops, hanging up the phone at the office desk. They had returned to the sheriff's station, warm lights blazing all around them. In the jail cell beside them sat the four felons, neatly tied up and secured to the floor. Their weapons had been carefully unloaded and stockpiled in the opposite corner of the room. Only the bear had regained consciousness thus far, and he’d remained silent.

“Thanks again, Mao.” Badgerclops rubbed the back of his head. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Mao Mao patted his metal arm. “No, Badgerclops, thank you. Without your tactical knowledge, I… I wouldn’t have been able to take all of them.”

“That’s why we’re a team!” Adorabat said gleefully. She was perched on the edge of the desk. Badgerclops patted her, smiling. 

A long moan crept from the jail cell, followed by quiet rustling. Mao Mao and Badgerclops looked at the cage, then back to each other. Raptor was waking up. Badgerclops gestured to Adorabat with his eye and then jerked his head toward the dojo.

Mao Mao nodded and cleared his throat. “Adorabat, would you join me in the dojo for a moment? I need your help for a very important task.” Adorabat’s eyes went wide as she nodded her head yes. They slipped out the side door, leaving Badgerclops alone with his stirring enemy.

Raptor moved groggily in the ropes securing him for a moment. Badgerclops guessed that he was trying to touch the wound in his stomach, not even fully aware of his situation yet. Passing out from severe blood loss probably hadn’t left him feeling chipper. In spite of everything that had happened, Badgerclops couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy. 

“What the fuck is this?” Raptor rasped, struggling against the binds. His throat sounded rough. Then he caught sight of Badgerclops and his eyes narrowed. “You…” Another coughing fit. No blood, though.

Badgerclops sighed, moving closer to the bars and crouching down. “We patched up your wounds and gave you some fluids. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you, man.”

“Lucky? Hah!” Raptor hacked out something resembling a cackle. “I sure as shit don’t feel lucky.” He shifted in the ropes again and groaned at the pain. “I know you wanted to kill me, Badgerclops. You can hide it from your friends, but I know what you are.” He leaned closer to Badgerclops’s face. “You can still kill me right here, you know. Pretend the wound took me out. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Badgerclops shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt anyone like that. Not even you.”

“Bullshit!” The force of the exclamation took all of the air out of him. He wheezed in a few breaths. “Don’t try to act like you’re some kind of hero. You robbed people blind. Shot them and left them for dead alone in back alleys.” He hissed the words out. “You’re no better than I am.”

“Maybe not,” Badgerclops said, “But at least I’m trying.” He rose to his feet, towering over Raptor. “You’re gonna go to prison for a long time now. And when you get there, you can tell them that Badgerclops sent you; that he’s a hero now, and anyone who comes for him will get the same treatment. Got it?” Badgerclops didn’t wait for a reply. He simply turned on his heel, strode out the side door, and let it clatter shut behind him.

* * *

It wasn’t long before a familiar vehicle appeared in the night sky above them, headlights blaring cones of yellow into the darkness as it sped towards their headquarters. Tanya Keys came skidding to a stop in her golden Aerotruck. “Alright Mittens,” she asked, hopping out of the truck, “where’s the haul?” She slapped him roughly on the back.

“Nice to see you too, Tanya,” Mao Mao grumbled.

Tanya laughed. “Please, you’ve got four bounties in there with my name on them. You’re lucky I’m even taking the time to talk to you at all.” She wiggled her fingers mischievously. Mao Mao just glared in response. She rolled her eyes. “Hello, Mao Mao. It’s very nice to see you. You too, Badgerclops.” Tanya bent down to address Adorabat. “These two aren’t giving you too much trouble, are they?”

Adorabat grinned at her. “I keep them in line.”

She patted Adorabat on the head, then straightened up. “Happy, Mittens? Now show me the felons.”

“Fine.” Mao Mao led the way through the front door and over to the jail cell. By this point, all four of their captives had awoken, and they were arguing loudly over whose fault it was that they’d been caught. As Mao Mao, Adorabat, Badgerclops, and Tanya approached, the group in the cell fell silent. 

Tanya whistled. “Hell of a catch, Mittens. You weren’t kidding.” She pulled out a thick sheaf of paper and began to leaf through it. “Let’s see here…” She held up one page to the light. It was a wanted poster bearing a photo of the lizard on it. “Flint Orson, $28,000.” She flipped to another. The bear. “Danny ‘Chatterbox’ Kujan, $32,000.” The next one took some searching. “Surge MacShaw, $16,000.” She smirked. “Small fry, huh? And finally…” Back to flipping through the stack. “Raptor, $85,000.” Tanya turned the wanted poster around to face him and tapped the number gleefully. “Hell of a catch,” she repeated, turning to Mao Mao. “You do all this yourself?”

Mao Mao puffed his chest out. “Of course! I-” then he caught himself. He looked away, embarrassed that he’d tried to take credit. “Actually, no. Badgerclops took care of everything. I couldn’t have done any of this without him.”

Tanya shot a look at Badgerclops. “Must have been some real heavy lifting if he’s actually crediting you for it. Sounds like you did some serious hero work.” She grinned. “Mao Mao must be so jealous.”

Badgerclops smiled back. He wasn’t really in the mood for banter, but it did feel good to be recognized.

“Yeah yeah,” Mao Mao interrupted, “Just make sure you remember what a hero he was once you get the payout. You better not stiff us on our 50%, Keys.” 

Tanya placed a hand on her chest and gasped in an exaggerated show of offense. “Mittens, you wound me. How could you ever possibly insinuate that I would make off with $161,000 all for myself? The mere _idea_ that I wouldn’t give you your _totally reasonable_ 50% cut leaves me distraught.” She stuck her tongue out.

“Alright boys,” Tanya addressed the criminals, “let’s get moving. Would you two _heroic_ gentlemen help me load my truck?” She waved her hand at Mao Mao and Badgerclops.

Mao Mao rolled his eyes and reached for the cell door.

It took two trips to load the protesting felons into the back of Tanya’s truck. The four of them barely even fit. Mao Mao wiped some sweat from his forehead. “How are you going to secure them?” he asked, searching for some sort of strap or attachment point. “Even if they’re crammed in here this tight, you should still tie them down.”

Tanya laughed. “Please, Mittens.” She tapped Raptor on the head and he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a single leaf. She pocketed it and quickly turned the rest.

Mao Mao was furious. “WHY DID YOU MAKE US CARRY THEM IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO POOF THEM?!” 

Tanya Keys gleefully ignored him and hopped into the driver’s seat. “Well, thanks for a lovely evening, Mittens! Let’s do this again sometime. Preferably with even bigger bounties.” She laughed as the engine started.

“Bye Tanya!” Adorabat yelled, waving excitedly at her. She shot a finger gun out the window in response.

“Give him a hard time for me, Badgerclops!” Tanya called as the truck lifted from the ground.

“Fifty percent!” Mao Mao yelled after her as the truck disappeared into the night sky. “Or else!”

She was too far gone for them to hear her response.

* * *

Silence settled thick and soft around the sheriff’s department HQ. The criminals were gone, Adorabat had been put to bed, and the garage workshop lay dormant. Mao Mao and Badgerclops were seated at the kitchen table. The window beside them looked out over the forest they’d kept watch on for the last few nights. Badgerclops rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, elbow on the table, and looked out at the scene.

Mao Mao took a sip of his tea. It was a special bedtime blend that Badgerclops had gotten him hooked on back in Queen’s Puddleland. Now that things had calmed down and they didn’t have to stay up on watch, he could finally enjoy it again. The warmth it imparted seemed to flow all the way to his fingertips in a matter of moments. He took another sip, peering over the rim of the teacup at Badgerclops through the wispy steam. _Still looking out the window…_ Mao Mao cleared his throat.

Badgerclops swiveled his head to look at him, shaking it slightly as if coming out of a stupor.

“No more watch shifts, huh?” Mao Mao said casually. “Feels nice.”

“Yeah…” Badgerclops agreed. His eyes darted to the window for a moment.

 _That’s not great,_ Mao Mao thought. “Let’s move to the couch,” he said, standing.

Badgerclops hesitated, looking up at Mao Mao from the table. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes went to the window again for just a moment.

“Hey,” Mao Mao said, his voice softening, “come on. It’s over now.” He offered Badgerclops his hand.

Another moment of indecision. But then Badgerclops gripped Mao Mao’s palm and lifted himself from the table. They walked to the couch together, Badgerclops settling down into his customary spot. Mao Mao hopped up onto the couch next to him and tossed him the remote. “What’s on?”

Badgerclops flipped through the channels. “Let’s see… How about _Scroll of the Warrior II_?”

Mao Mao considered the name for a moment. “Never heard of it. Sounds terrible.” 

Badgerclops smiled. “Perfect.” He tapped a button on the remote and an image of a tiger somehow wielding three katanas at once filled the screen. A dramatic action scene played out in which the warrior took on seven enemy combatants without breaking a sweat.

“Oh come on,” Mao Mao scoffed as the blades flashed across the screen, “this swordsmanship is completely ridiculous! That’s not how you triple-wield!”

Badgerclops snickered. “I guess you’ll have to show me how it’s done tomorrow in the dojo.” 

Mao Mao rolled his eyes. He fell silent before long though, content to simply let the film wash over him. He stared towards the screen, half-watching as he slipped into his own thoughts. The way that Badgerclops had kept looking out over the forest even though they’d taken care of Raptor was concerning. He was obviously still worried that something else would happen, though he wouldn’t say anything about it. _That definitely isn’t good,_ Mao Mao thought. It was obvious that everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks was sticking with Badgerclops; not just Raptor, but his fights with Mao Mao too. 

The sound of swords clashing against swords rang from the television, but Mao Mao barely noticed it. He was racking his brain for anything useful Ol’ Blue might have said during their therapy sessions. None of it seemed applicable. They so rarely talked about anything other than Mao Mao. He wanted to help, but…

_“Just show him that you’re there for him, Mao Mao. That’s all.”_

_Of course!_ Blue’s advice echoed back in his mind. He could do that. It would probably take a long time for Badgerclops to feel alright again, but Mao Mao could stick with him until it happened. He quietly scooted closer to Badgerclops and rested his head against his chest. _Show him that you’re there for him._ “I’m glad you’re home, Badgerclops. I, uh… missed you.”

He felt Badgerclops’s huge arm settle around his shoulders. “I missed you too, Mao.”

The credits on the film began to roll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading my fic! This was the most ambitious thing I've ever written as far as plot and characters go, so I really appreciate all of your comments. I want to shout out my boyfriend again for his unbelievably helpful editing and reading. I started this fic all the way back in September 2019, so it's been a long time coming and I'm really glad to have it all out. I've got no idea what I'll write next! I have a few beginnings sitting around in documents, but maybe when new episodes show up again I'll have some other ideas too. See you then!


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